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More tax dollars spent on stoplights to route the tourists and tourist industry workers. Where would we be without tourists?

Narrowing the sidewalks on Lighthouse or making Hawthorne one way to Pvt Bolio were all great ideas, but they are all pro-car and not an option.

On an average day 54,000 cars come around the Lighthouse curve passing Private Bolio Gate to the Presidio of Monterey. That is more vehicles than travel any given spot on Highway 1, Highway 101, Highway 68, or Highway 156 in Monterey County.

The first step has been adding adaptive traffic signals.

“What this system does is every two and a half minutes it makes decisions based on the traffic that is coming,” Renny said.

The signals also keep a history of traffic so the system can make predictive decisions. A portion of Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey already has the signals but by Summer 2019 the city plans to install the lights stretching from David Avenue and Lighthouse Avenue all the way to English Avenue and Del Monte Avenue.

The money for the project is coming from a grant, neighborhood improvement fund dollars and Measure X.

After two cars collide at 1:30 AM. Oh how could we have ever survived these past 100 years with uncontrolled intersections, mostly in the residential areas?

“Never assume other drivers will give you the right of way,” the DMV contends. “Yield your right of way when it helps to prevent collisions.” Pacific Grove Police Cmdr. Rory Lakind agreed. “Everyone has to be cautious whenever they’re approaching an intersection,” he said.

When the tourists roll into town with their SUVs and rented Hyundais they are easy to spot on the roads and drive defensive. But these little yellow bug specks can jump out of nowhere.

There are several Sea Car options, depending on what you want to see and spend. The descriptions below are for a car loaded with a preset GPS route and that holds two people. A few larger cars are available, as are “Sea Car Scoot Trikes” ($30 per hour).

Two hour tour ($110): This tour does all of the above, plus Pacific Grove’s downtown, and allows time for stops. Prefer to follow a guide? Sea Car offers guided two-hour tours ($130, reservations required), as well.

Three hour tour ($160): This is a good option if you know the area and just want to plug in your smartphone and listen to music while you cruise. (Note: No freeways allowed.)

Careful with that three hour tour ( a three hour tour…), if the weather gets rough you might be stranded in Sand City. Have plenty of coconuts and a professor along if you can.

Why not make all the tourists ride bikes. Put up a gate at the tunnel, resident cars only.

Construction on the Holman Highway Roundabout project is expected to begin in June. The project, up at the intersection of 17-Mile Drive and state Route 68, will likely push a lot more vehicle traffic onto Lighthouse Avenue, a Monterey artery that is already frequently clogged.

“Come 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., it starts to back up, and from that point until about 7 p.m., it’s pretty slow here,” said Jason Costanza, who owns Monterey Seibuken Academy, on Lighthouse Avenue.

Monterey is hoping rather than getting frustrated with even more traffic this summer, people will take a new route to work.

“We want to get people to walk, and we want to get people to bike,” said Andrea Renny, with the city’s traffic and engineering department.

Monterey plans to make changes on Lighthouse Avenue both in the long term and the short term, and it could result in the artery becoming a one-way street.

The Lighthouse Destination Plan shows Lighthouse Avenue becoming a one way street heading toward downtown Monterey, and expanding Foam Street to three lanes heading one way toward Pacific Grove.

The avenue has grown more congested with a growing hospitality industry and with the closures of roads on the Presidio to the public following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Deal said in addition to making Lighthouse a one-way street other options are being explored. The city is talking about keeping the lane changes likely to happen this spring, with three lanes heading into downtown Monterey and one lane headed into Pacific Grove, and it is looking at making Hawthorn a one-way to give people another way to travel.

Don Murphy said the tragic crash happened in front of his home. He didn’t hear the collision but said he saw the aftermath when he opened his door to determine why emergency lights were flashing outside.

“The victim, a woman, was lying motionless, face down, in the street,” he recounted. “The driver of the car — an SUV? — that hit her was quite upset while being interviewed by police.”

Substainable P.G. type idea to make travel by car less desirable. Look at the picture, there is enough room on Pine Ave for 4 traffic lanes, curbside parking and bike lanes to nowhere.

Earlier this year, the Pacific Grove Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Commission made efforts to carry out a 3-lane conversion on Pine Avenue, with one lane each way and a center turning lane, adding bike lanes on each side. Amid mixed public reaction to the proposed project, the idea has been postponed and Public Works has completed a re-paint of the street in its familiar, 4-lane configuration. No plans for a 3-lane conversion are in the works at this time.

The preferred alternative remains a one-way, eastbound Lighthouse with two general traffic lanes and one lane dedicated to bicycles, buses and emergency vehicles.

City traffic engineer Rich Deal contends that controlling traffic speeds on city streets is easier with one-way traffic than with two-way, and cited Alvarado Street in downtown Monterey as an example.

But Alvarado street is not a main road into Pacific Grove. Reducing four lanes to two will not help ease traffic.

This is beginning to sound like a “Sustainable City” scheme, much like to stupid idea to reduce Pine Avenue to two traffic lanes in P.G. with exaggerated bicycle lanes no one needs. Until they take your freedoms away.